12 September 2014

The SS5 for Aunt Martha

Application for a Social Security Account Number,
Martha Ann Greenstreet, 480-22-9796,
obtained from the Social Security Administration.
Personally I don't often order SS5 forms very often. 

It is not because they are not valuable, but it's just that most of my own personal research is before Social Security was in existence and even for those people who lived after it was created, I often don't really "need" the form and can't always justify the expense. The forms do usually provide the information (parents, date and place of birth, occupation, etc.) that are listed here. For most of my very non-migratory 20th century farming relatives the cards aren't going to tell me too much.

But sometimes it's necessary--especially when people moved a great deal or the researcher wants to see what information they put on the form instead of what an informant put on a death certificate (keep in mind that in some cases, employers filled the cards out and the applicant signed them). 

This form is for my great-grandmother's half-sister, Martha Ann (Sargent) Silsby Greenstreet. I've had some difficulty locating information on her and her family, partially because it doesn't appear that she was close to her two older half sisters by her father's first marriage. 

The birth and parental information is consistent with other records. Her residence was not exactly where I expected, but given that Aunt Martha moved around a fair amount any residence in the upper Midwest would not really have been a surprise.

And I still haven't located her in the 1940 census. Maybe now that I've got an address for her in 1943, that will make that a little easier.  

Getting the form:


The online form for ordering a Social Security number application is the best approach if:

  • the person whose form you are requesting was born over 100 years ago, and
  • you don't believe that the Social Security Administration has information indicating the person's parents were under 20 at the time the person for whom you are ordering the SS5 form was born.

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